By Sarah Grace Coleman Marsha Raiford and her family at Clark Creek in Woodville Marsha Raiford is a life-long resident of Wesson, where she lives with her husband, Lance Raiford, and their two youngest children, Nick and Savannah. Her oldest daughter, Kelly Grace, lives on her own. Growing up, Raiford’s dream was to be a dancer and cheerleader. She attended Nena Smith’s School of Dance, where she later worked as a student teacher in high school. Raiford attended Copiah-Lincoln Community College, where she danced as a Colette. After graduating with her associate degree in office technology, she returned to Nena Smith’s as a dance instructor, where she taught for twenty-three years. She then commuted to the Trustmark bank in Hazlehurst for a year and nine months before returning to Wesson. Raiford currently works as the secretary for the nursing program at the Copiah-Lincoln Community College, which allows her to spend more time with her family. Raiford also created a “Dancersize” class with fellow dance teachers Jessica Breazeale and Taylor Burke after she and fellow alumni of Nena Smith’s came together to surprise their former teacher at the school’s 50th anniversary recital. The class features dance-oriented exercises, such as line-dancing. “I like the fact that people tell me they enjoy just being around other ladies, and then, also, they get their heart rate up, they feel like they have done something, they get their exercise for an hour...feel like they belong to something and just [enjoy] being able to get together, have a good time and laugh and get some exercise,” said Raiford. The class is held every Tuesday from 6–7 p.m. and is $5 per class. Raiford is grateful to Christy Shaw, who so graciously allows the class to use her Event Room. The class is also an opportunity for prayer and fellowship. “Before we leave, we ask for prayer requests, and we do a prayer time and talk about praisesand what we’re thankful for,” said Raiford. Outside of Dancersize, Raiford is involved with Strong Hope Baptist Church, where she serves in the choir, helps in the nursery and helps teach Preschool Discipleship Training. She also lead a small group called Moms N Prayer biweekly. When she’s not dancing or at work, Raiford enjoys being outdoors and spending time with her family. Raiford enjoys riding bikes, walking and exercising in her spare time. She and her family are also frequent visitors of Clark Creek in Woodville, Mississippi. What are your hobbies? I’d say my hobbies are my kids and doing stuff with them—I like to walk and exercise I especially enjoy doing those things with my youngest daughter. She inspires and motivates me to stay active.” Are you a reader? I do like to read, but my main thing is I love audio books—I’m reading Atomic Habits right now. How about music? I love Christian music, and I enjoy some of the oldies. I like the old rock...not hard, I like the soft rock and Creed, and I love Imagine Dragons. Do you go to the theater or movies? I do like the theater, [but] I don’t get to go very much, because I have children. If you won a lot of money in the lottery, how would you spend it? I’d probably pay my house off, and I’d give a lot of it away; I’d use it to help people...Travel would be one of the big things. I’d like to go to Hawaii one day...I’d like to go to New York again. I’m not one to want to travel out of the country. I’d like to go to Montana, Colorado; I’d like to make a trip to the west.

By Bob Garver Poster credit IMDB It takes a very generous suspension of disbelief to enjoy “One Night Only.” The film is set in a not-too-distant future where premarital sex is outlawed, save for one night a year. Comparisons to “The Purge” are inevitable, which to me raises an interesting question: Which would lead to more violent crime in this country – one night of legalized violent crime, or gradually-building sexual frustration on all but one night? Never mind that such laws would never in a million years be passed, enforced, or obeyed. The characters in this film – which takes place in a fully-recognizable New York City and not some bleak dystopian fantasy world – accept that the law is set in stone, and occasionally complain about it, but we never see any serious resistance. That’s a big strike against the film right off the bat – it’s hard to identify with anyone in this world because everybody is inherently ridiculous enough to go along with this law. To be fair, this film is not about the 364 days a year where this law wouldn’t work, it’s about the one upside, the lone night where all the single people are allowed to go crazy. And go crazy they do, with almost every shot in the movie showing people hooking up, in at least the background. Of course, it’s all in a tame R-rated way with the naughtiest bits out of view of the camera. I shudder to think what this movie would have looked like if it took the X-rated approach, though that movie would have at least been memorable. As it is, I probably won’t forget the weird premise anytime soon, but I’ll probably have forgotten the title of this movie by year’s end. The movie follows traditional rom-com characters Owen (Callum Turner) and Allie (Monica Barbaro). He’s a pizza cook who works too hard. She’s a singer who has stage fright. He has a girlfriend (Maya Hawke) who treats him badly and tells him he’s on his own for finding a partner for tonight. She’s not that serious about finding someone. Both have friends and family who tell them that they need to lighten up and have some fun. They bump into each other a few times while on separate adventures, initially having animosity that turns into a rivalry before considering that maybe they should be together. Will they become a couple, physically or otherwise? The good news is that Turner and Barbaro are sweet enough leads. I was digging their chemistry and interactions with one another. They’re basically having a PG-13 relationship while the world around them is super R-rated (though not as “hard-R” as it probably wants to be). It’s all corny, in traditional rom-com fashion, but mildly engaging, especially when compared to what else the movie has to offer. The bad news about “One Night Only” is pretty much everything else about the movie. I can poke holes in the premise all day, but the real problem is that the film wants to be both raunchy and edgy, but it can only manage the former. Sex gags permeate the movie (let’s just say it’s really hard to procure protection at the last minute in this world), but they’re oddly toothless. Director Will Gluck previously made “Anyone But You,” an R-rated romantic comedy that I thought would have worked better without its cruder elements. This movie doesn’t work because it doesn’t have much cruder elements. Even though I champion the film’s cleaner moments, they would mean more if they were contrasted with dirty moments that were actually good at being dirty. Grade: C- “One Night Only” is rated R for sexual material, language, and brief nudity. Its running time is 102 minutes. Contact Bob Garver at rrg251@nyu.edu.

Special to Wesson News A new Mississippi attendance law (Mississippi Code Annotated § 37-13-91) takes effect this school year (starting July 1, 2026). The new state legislative mandates are designed to bolster classroom engagement and academic performance for public school students. The Copiah County School District recently outlined the upcoming guidelines, which stem from the updated Mississippi state law and apply uniformly to every public school district across the state. Under the revised standards, the minimum daily attendance required for a student to be marked present for the day is 66% of instructional time, and students may have up to five excused absences per semester—which includes both parent notes and medical excuses. Additionally, any absences due to illness or injury beyond the third absence require official medical documentation. District officials shared a graphic designed to help parents and guardians understand the district’s policies, and they followed the graphic with a statement: “We would like to offer clarification to dispel much of the misunderstandings, speculation, rumors and misled information circulating from shared posts and opinions.” “As the graphic previously posted shows, here’s exactly how the new attendance law works: The three absence notice (whether excused or unexcused) is simply an early heads-up. At this point, we reach out to make sure you’re aware and to partner with you in supporting your child’s regular attendance. This step is preventive and supportive — not punitive. The more serious referrals and interventions (starting at 5, 8, 12, and 15+ absences) only apply to unlawful absences (also known as unexcused absences).” An “unlawful absence” (also referred to as an “unexcused absence”) is an absence for an entire school day or during part of a school day by a compulsory-school-age child, which absence is not due to a valid excuse for temporary nonattendance. Officials say the attendance approach is “very consistent with the strong attendance practices our district has followed for years. The primary update required by the new state law (§ 37-13-91) is the earlier notification to families at just three absences, allowing us to work together proactively before issues escalate.” Parents and guardians are encouraged to promptly submit doctor’s notes or other acceptable documentation whenever their child is absent. Proper excuses allow school officials to mark the absence as excused, “so it does not count toward the higher referral thresholds.” District leaders also emphasized that “it is also important to note that funding is no longer tied to student attendance. Mississippi updated its school funding formula in 2024 with the Mississippi Student Funding Formula (MSFF), which replaced the old Mississippi Adequate Education Program (MAEP).” “[On the] old system (MAEP), funding was partly based on Average Daily Attendance (ADA). Lower attendance directly reduced state funding. [On the] new system (MSFF), funding is now primarily based on Average Net Enrollment (ANE) — basically the number of students enrolled, not how many show up every day.” Families who are experiencing challenges with attendance are encouraged to contact their child’s school for support and resources.

By Jessica Breazeale You've heard it a hundred times. Probably from your mama, maybe from a frustrated coworker, definitely from a friend talking you down off a ledge of self-pity: “The world doesn’t revolve around you.” Usually it comes with a little side-eye attached. But stick with me, because there’s something genuinely wonderful hiding inside that old saying — and part of it isn’t even a metaphor. It's Not Just a Saying. It's Literally True. Here’s a fun one: for most of human history, we really did believe the world revolved around us. Not just philosophically — astronomically. Ancient astronomers looked up, watched the sun cross the sky every day, and built an entire model of the universe with Earth sitting comfortably at the center of it all. Made sense. Felt right. And it wasn’t a fringe idea — it was the settled science of its day, for a very long time. The Greek astronomer Ptolemy formalized the Earth-centered model in the 2nd century AD, and according to Britannica, it held on as the accepted view of the cosmos for roughly 1,500 years, all the way until Copernicus came along in the 1500s. Fifteen centuries. Generation after generation of the smartest people alive, looking up at the same sky, confident it was all circling them. Turns out we had it backwards. Earth isn’t the center of anything. It’s a modest little rock, orbiting an average star, tucked into one arm of a galaxy that’s just one of somewhere between hundreds of billions and a couple trillion others, according to a January 2025 report from ScienceDaily on research using the Hubble Space Telescope. We’re not the center of the universe — we’re not even the center of our own solar system. And here’s the part people miss: when astronomers figured that out, it didn’t shrink human life. It opened it up. Letting go of “center of everything” made room for awe. Turns out the universe is a lot more interesting when you’re not standing in the middle of it, demanding it orbit you. The Emotional Version Works the Same Way Most of us don’t need convincing that the sun doesn’t circle the earth. What we need convincing of is the emotional version of that same lesson — the one where we quietly believe our schedule, our feelings, our plans should be the fixed point everyone else orbits around. Honestly, some of us are still a little Ptolemaic about it. A 2012 National Science Foundation survey of over 2,000 Americans, reported by Space.com, asked a simple question — does the Earth go around the sun, or the sun around the Earth — and a quarter of respondents got it wrong. We fixed the astronomy on paper a long time ago. The gravitational pull toward “it’s all about me,” though? That one’s harder to shake. You know the signs. The frustration when someone doesn’t text back fast enough. The offense you take when a plan changes without consulting you. The quiet resentment when life simply… continues, unbothered by whatever you’re going through now. None of that makes you a bad person. It makes you human. We experience the world from behind our own eyes, so it will always feel like we’re the center of the story. But feeling like the center and being the center are two different things — just like the sun genuinely felt like it circled the earth every single day for fifteen centuries of very smart people watching very closely. Here's the Good News in All of This If the world doesn’t revolve around you, you’re not carrying the weight of holding it all together. You don’t have to be the sun everyone else orbits, the one whose gravity keeps every relationship and outcome in place. That job was never yours to begin with — and frankly, it never worked well when we tried to hand it to Earth, either. There’s real freedom in that. You don’t have to hold the sky up. You don’t have to be the fixed point everything else depends on. That was never your job — because it was never a job for the created at all. It belongs to the One who was doing the holding long before the stars had names, and who’ll still be holding it long after every galaxy we counted has burned out. Scripture calls Him the Ancient of Days (Daniel 7:9) for a reason — He’s not a planet or a sun or a point on anyone’s chart. He’s outside the whole system, sovereign over it, and He was never asking you to run it. It works better when we realize God mapped us into his design but never made us the center of it. That’s not a new idea dressed up in astronomy. Faith has been saying this long before telescopes caught up. Humility was never about thinking less of yourself — it was always about thinking of yourself less often, so there’s room to see God as God and everyone else as the people He loves just as much as He loves you. So What's the Bigger Picture? The world doesn’t revolve around you…and that’s great news! You were never made to be the center, only to find your place, faithfully, in something far bigger than you. Turns out that’s not a demotion. It’s an invitation. Downloadable version

Send responses to: andybowman839@gmail.com Pappa and his two small great grandsons were having fun playing in the park on a gorgeous afternoon. Kicking around a soccer ball, they soon decided to start a game. Well, a loosely-termed version of the game of soccer. The kind of game that has very few boundaries or rules. Or at least, rules that Pappa and the oldest grandson agreed upon. At his tender age, Pappa’s four-year-old great grandson, the youngest, had little understanding of how the game should be played. Soccer rules were still only a vague concept to him, largely stemming from overheard conversations between his dad and his uncle as they watched soccer games on TV. And what a little boy hears, and what a little boy can actually accomplish, is two drastically different things. Pappa knew this. So being an indulgent Pappa, the older man decided it was okay to simply bend the rules a little – creating a version of the game that his younger great grandson could actually play that day. He failed to take into consideration a few things. First, Oldest had recently started playing soccer on a local little boys’ team, and had a rudimentary understanding of the rules of the game. Two, his older great-grand was a stickler for rules being followed in life – at least any rules that benefited him. Third, that kid had a memory like an elephant. Need I say more? I probably don’t need to embellish any further, but I will. The game went off the rails at the point when Oldest vehemently challenged Pappa on one of the finer points of a rule for playing soccer. Yet Pappa stood firmly by his version, because of the inabilities of Youngest. Oldest began yelling his protests that Pappa was not following the rules. Pappa simply dug his figurative heels in the ground, following through on his recently-discovered personal belief that the guy with the most gray hair gets to change the rules to make the game fair for all involved. And the four-year-old? He quickly wandered off to find entertainment on the swings nearby. Young enough to lose interest when the game was no longer fun, old enough to sense the thick tension in the air, and self-protective enough to vacate the area. Smart kid. How long will this disagreement have an effect on the grandson-granddad relationship? Have no idea. Probably depends on two things. The elephant memory of Oldest, and the forgiving nature - or not, of The One With The Most Gray Hair. A simple example of how life can go haywire in just a few seconds, and ruin a great afternoon in the park. And possibly affect a close relationship for years to come. Like the Bible says; “For those who have ears to hear, let him hear.” And learn.

Dr. Walterine Nelson Copiah-Lincoln Community College has announced the establishment of its new Division of Nursing and Allied Health, a strategic organizational enhancement that reflects the continued growth of the college's healthcare programs and aligns Co-Lin's organizational structure with many colleges and universities where healthcare programs are housed within a specialized division. The new division will house Associate Degree Nursing, LPN-to-RN, Medical Laboratory Technology, Medical Radiologic Technology, Practical Nursing, Emergency Medical Services/Paramedic, and Respiratory Care Technology. Effective July 1, 2026, the new Division of Nursing and Allied Health brings the college's healthcare programs under a unified leadership structure designed to strengthen oversight, enhance collaboration among healthcare disciplines, and further support student success. The new structure also creates opportunities to strengthen partnerships with clinical affiliates and healthcare providers. To lead the new division, Dr. Walterine Nelson has been appointed Dean of Nursing and Allied Health. In this role, she will provide leadership for the college's nursing and allied health programs, overseeing faculty development, accreditation, curriculum, and student success initiatives. Dr. Nelson has served as Co-Lin's Associate Degree Nursing (AND) Director for the last two years and successfully led the program through the accreditation process where Co-Lin received full accreditation from the Mississippi Board of Nursing. "The creation of the Division of Nursing and Allied Health represents an important milestone for Co-Lin," said Co-Lin President Dr. Dewayne Middleton. "Healthcare remains one of the fastest growing and most essential workforce sectors in our state and region. Establishing a dedicated division allows us to strengthen collaboration across our healthcare programs, better serve our students and clinical partners, and position the college for continued growth. Dr. Nelson's experience, vision, and commitment to excellence make her the right person to lead this initiative." A nurse educator and administrator with more than 25 years of experience, Dr. Nelson has held leadership and faculty positions at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Alcorn State University, Southwest Mississippi Community College, Virginia College, and West Coast University. She also serves as an evaluator for Western Governors University, reviewing student assessments and supporting academic quality within the College of Health Professions. She earned a Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing Education and Administration and a Master of Science in Nursing Education from William Carey University. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Alcorn State University and is a proud graduate of Copiah-Lincoln Community College, where she earned both her Associate Degree in Nursing and Practical Nursing certificate. Dr. Nelson is an active member of the American Nurses Association and the Mississippi Nurses Association. Throughout her career, she has been recognized for her expertise in nursing education, accreditation, curriculum development, faculty leadership, and student success. To learn more about Co-Lin's medical programs, visit www.colin.edu/programs/.

By Jessica Breazeale Wesson native Landon Beasley Landon Beasley left Wesson for the Army and saw more than thirty countries. Now, he's betting on bringing his hometown back to what he remembers it being. Beasley, 38, was born and raised in Wesson. He's an active-duty Major in the Mississippi Army National Guard, a graduate of Mississippi State University and the University of Maryland, and the founder of Southern Grid Properties, a real estate investment company he started in December 2011, right out of college. He's also, by his own account, one of the town's biggest believers. "I want to do something to bring and keep people there," Beasley said. "And the number one thing you’ve got to have is a house." A career in uniform Beasley has about two and a half to three years left before retirement from the National Guard. He is a field artillery officer who spent much of his career in Special Forces. He currently serves as range operations officer, overseeing all ranges and operational training at Camp McCain in Grenada County. Along the way, he said, he has led more than 1,000 soldiers as a commander and deployed four times. Building Wesson, one house at a time Before renovation-property on Hotel Street Beasley bought his first property, storage units and a small apartment, in 2011, and spent the next decade buying land, apartment complexes and single-family homes across the region. About three and a half to four years ago, he made a decision: sell everything outside Wesson city limits and reinvest the proceeds back into his hometown. "That's when I just had the idea of selling everything I had outside of Wesson city proper, and then turn around and invest all that money back into Wesson," he said. "To really just kind of build the community back up to where it used to be when we were growing up…a thriving community where people wanted to move, wanted to live." The town's biggest obstacle, he said, isn't a lack of land. It's a lack of livable housing. "We have property and we have land, and there's houses on it; but they're not livable, or they're run down and not maintained," Beasley said. Southern Grid Properties currently owns about fifteen houses inside Wesson city proper, along with a storage unit complex beside Shop and Wash. The company has no available homes at the moment, but four are under construction. One, a three-bedroom, two-bath house on Hotel Street, is expected to be move-in ready within thirty days. A second is expected to follow in three to four months, with two more targeted for completion within six to eight months. After renovation- property on Hotel Street Rather than the informal, handshake approach to renting he grew up around, Beasley said he built the business with a more structured model. Prospective residents can go to SouthernGridProps.com to pay rent, request information on available properties, join a waiting list and track the town's ongoing projects. Why Wesson Beasley said the decision to come home wasn't complicated, once he looked at it from the outside. "It's coming back to seeing what Wesson was when we were kids — the flea market, Founders Day, people meeting up at the cafe, the old men gathering," he said. "And seeing that kind of slowly start to taper away." He said it would have been easy to settle in Brookhaven, Madison, Brandon or Jackson instead. But Wesson, he said, has industry, a strong attendance center and untapped potential. "I saw Wesson being — I don't want to say decline is the right word — but I saw Wesson, just to go through town, and I was like, I want to do something," he said. Beasley has seen plenty of towns. His favorite hobby is traveling. His other favorite hobby: working. Looking ahead Asked about persistent talk in town that he might run for mayor, Beasley didn't rule it out. "I won't come out and say yes to that," he said, "but I will just say that I'm going to do everything I can to make Wesson better. If making it better is running for mayor, well, I'm going to do what I’ve got to do to make it better." Beasley said he and others are already working to rebuild two of the town's signature events. He said organizers are hoping to grow the flea market back to roughly 200 vendor booths this year, and to reinvigorate Founders Day, both to draw visitors into town, rather than watch them pass through. "I do think we need to be more of a small-town Mayberry," he said. "Let’s make Wesson the Mississippi Mayberry. We have everything we need. We just need to clean it up and do a little bit better." Beasley also pointed to recent frustration among residents over changes such as the discontinuation of Taco Tuesday, and said the town could do more to make public meetings welcoming and accessible. "Those meetings are open. Show up and show out," he said. "Say your opinions." For more information on available properties or to join Southern Grid Properties' waiting list, residents can visit SouthernGridProps.com.

Special to Wesson News Pictured (l to r) are Erika Gemelli, Debbie Brown, Danielle Graham, Alana Lyons, LeAnne Duet, Natasha Lewis, Edna Stevens, Megan Lang, Ruth Case, Katie Hall and Susan Lee. For the third year in a row, dozens of Wesson Attendance Center students walked into the new school year with fresh haircuts, courtesy of local stylists who donated their time and skills free of charge. The event, held August 2 from 2 to 5 p.m. in the school's old gym, drew six stylists who cut hair for fifty children in three hours. “I was just sitting watching TV one day when the idea popped into my head,” said Lewis. “I said [to myself], ‘OK, that was God!’ I need to do this, and I’m not sure where to start. My friend Leanne can make this happen!" LeAnne Duet poses with Bryce Ashley after his haircut. That was three years ago. Lewis called Leanne Duet, the current PTO president, with that idea she had that she wasn't sure how to off the ground. The two, who both attended Wesson schools and went to cosmetology school at Co-Lin, worked together to organize the first event, and it has grown every year since. Duet said volunteers are essential to keeping the event running smoothly. PTO members check children in at the door and help wherever needed, while Beta Club members pitch in and earn community service hours for their work. Duet said the event is about more than haircuts. Natasha Lewis styles M'Kyia Clay's hair. "It's one way to give back to the community," Duet said. "We care about the kids at Wesson. We want them to have a fresh start to the new school year." For Duet, the best part of the day is watching stylists from different shops set aside any sense of competition and work together. "We all do hair, but it's not a competition — it's a community," Duet said. "We can all come together, laugh, joke and have a good time while doing what we love." When asked why she keeps coming back to volunteer year after year, Lewis said, “Because I love kids, I love to give back to the community, and some people really need the help…and that’s were we come in.” Stylist Debbie Brown cuts Zollie Barlow's hair during the event. Organizers said they don't plan to change much about the event going forward. "It actually runs pretty smoothly," Duet said. The free haircut event will return next year, organizers confirmed. Erika Gemelli gives Kameron Wade a haircut.

By Misty Strieff Prine “Remember that just because you hit bottom doesn’t mean you have to stay there.” – Robert Downey, Jr. I want you to do a little exercise. If you were asked today to name one of the darkest moments of your life, what would it be? Looking back on that time, do you see how far you've come? Ok, now think about where you are in your life right now. God is great, isn't He? You see, the darkness is not what you should remember. Instead, you should remember how much stronger those times made you and be thankful that Jesus brought you out of them and to the place you are in your life right now. Sometimes, to truly appreciate where you are in your life, you have to remember where you came from. I've been through some pretty tough stuff in my life and to look back and see how God helped me out of a seemingly hopeless situation, and made me a better person because of it, truly astounds me. God has a way of pulling us out of our brokenness and gently glueing those broken pieces together, only to fill you with His mercy, love and grace which shines through the cracks of those glued together pieces. If you're reading this today and you are currently going through a dark time in your life, just know you have the choice to NOT stay there. You must look deep inside of yourself and pull that faith out that you've buried deep away because of this darkness. Cling to your faith, climb up that rope, and search for the message in this dark period of your life. Then turn that message into a lesson learned and claim victory through Christ who strengthens you and share your testimony with the world. You can do this! There is no depth of darkness that is beyond Christ’s reach. His hand is outstretched and waiting for you to reach out and grab it. Meet Him there. He's ready for you. Are you ready for Him? He is your answer today. Remember this verse from Philippians 4:13, “I can do ALL things through Him who gives me strength.”

A 27-year-old Crystal Springs man was killed Thursday afternoon in a single-vehicle crash on Interstate 55 in Copiah County, according to the Mississippi Highway Patrol. The crash occurred at approximately 3:52 p.m. Thursday near the 51-mile marker on Interstate 55 South. Preliminary information from the Mississippi Highway Patrol indicates that Anthony Antoine McKnight Jr. was driving a 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee southbound when the vehicle left the roadway and struck a tree. McKnight sustained fatal injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene. The cause of the crash has not been released. The Mississippi Highway Patrol is continuing to investigate the incident.

By Bob Garver Poster credit IMDB When we last left Peter Parker aka Spider-Man (Tom Holland) back in 2021, he had to submit to a spell from Doctor Strange that would make the world forget he ever existed. His Aunt May (Marissa Tomei) had died, so he had no family left, but he had to watch his friends Ned (Jacob Batalon) and MJ (Zendaya), go off to college without him, blissfully unaware of what they meant to him. As we rejoin Peter in “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” he’s mostly turned himself over to superhero work full-time. There are plenty of dangers around New York City, from minor thugs to supervillains like Scorpion (Michael Mando) to people that just need rescuing. Peter is always happy to swing in and save the day as Spider-Man, but the years of anonymity are taking their toll on the human side of him. Peter has some help. He coordinates with Detective Jean DeWolff (Liza Colón-Zayas), as a liaison to the NYPD. A supposedly-benevolent organization called Damage Control, led by Bill Metzger (Tramell Tillman) deals in superhero affairs. Fellow vigilante Frank “The Punisher” Castle (Jon Bernthal) keeps an eye on things, though Peter disagrees with his violent tactics. If he gets really desperate, he can call upon Yelena “Black Widow” Belova, the leader of the New Avengers. Even Bruce “The Incredible Hulk” Banner (Mark Ruffalo) is still in play, wearing a device that prevents him Hulk-ing up, though it can be disabled. But these people are “allies” at best, Peter misses having friends. Eventually a threat presents itself that stumps Peter, his allies, and even his enemies. Somebody is possessing the bodies of whoever they please – often average citizens, though it can be a familiar face if specific deception is required - and wreaking havoc throughout the city. Their ultimate target seems to be Damage Control, which itself may not be on the up-and-up, as if Spider-Man battling the company’s ninja security team in all the film’s advertising wasn’t enough of a giveaway. The person behind the possessions is a shadowy figure, and it’s little secret that Sadie Sink of “Stranger Things” has been cast in a shadowy role, so the real question is, who is this character beyond someone played by Sadie Sink? Peter tries to keep from becoming possessed himself, but his biology betrays him and soon the villain learns that he’s still pining after MJ. He tries saving her impersonally as Spider-Man, but it soon becomes apparent that Peter Parker can’t stay out of her life forever. And this leads to some good conversations about what these characters are, what they’ve been, and what they can and can’t be going forward. It’s some of the best acting I’ve seen from the MCU in a long time. Also, Bernthal with his jaded attitude is everything you could want in a perfectly-cast Punisher. And yet, I’m not recommending “Spider-Man: Brand New Day.” It’s an apologetic sort of non-recommendation, as the movie does a lot right, especially with its three(!) carryovers from “The Odyssey.” But for every scene where the movie admirably lets the actors and dialogue breathe, there are too many more that are just dull MCU retreads. Like how Damage Control is just the latest corrupt human organization to think that they can get away with crimes against superpowered individuals. Or how the villain is temporarily stopped the way most MCU villains are stopped in this era. Or how characters like (the new) Black Widow and The Hulk are wedged into the film to remind fans that they’re still a part of this franchise despite the story not needing them. Or, perhaps worst of all, how the film seems preoccupied with setting up more MCU installments down the road than making this installment particularly memorable. Compared to the satisfaction I got from 2021’s “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” this movie… I won’t say “doesn’t have legs,” but is maybe a few legs short of an arachnid. Grade: C “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” is rated PG-13 for sequences of action/violence and some language. Its running time is 145 minutes. Contact Bob Garver at rrg251@nyu.edu.

By Jessica Breazeale Pair of modern dice You know the phrase. Somebody's staring down a decision — a job offer, a first date, whether to say yes to the thing that scares them — and they shrug and say, "Well, I guess I'll just roll the dice." It's a phrase we use for recklessness. For giving up on strategy and letting luck take the wheel. It's the opposite of a plan. I got curious about where that phrase actually comes from, so I went down a rabbit hole. My first guess was that it had to be Old Testament. Something about lots being cast, priests and prophets leaving decisions in God's hands. I figured "roll the dice" was some distant cousin of that. Turns out I was both right and wrong. Dice — actual dice, little cube-shaped objects made of bone and stone — go back further than the Old Testament. Archaeologists have found them in Mesopotamia and Egypt dating back roughly 3,000 years before Christ. Long before Moses, long before Abraham, people were rolling bones to make decisions. Ancient carved bone dice (Egypt / Mesopotamia, ~3000 BCE era) And it turns out that's not even close to the beginning. A 2026 study out of Colorado State University found that Native Americans were making and using dice more than 12,000 years ago — about 6,500 years before dice show up anywhere in the Old World. These weren't cubes like ours; they were flat, two-sided pieces of bone or wood, more like a coin flip than a roll. Archaeologists found them at dozens of sites across the western United States, some dating all the way back to the Ice Age. And they weren't just for gambling — historians believe these games created a kind of neutral ground where different groups could meet, trade, and build trust with one another. So this isn't just an ancient Near Eastern habit that eventually made its way into Scripture. Leaving something to chance — tossing an object and letting it decide — shows up independently, on opposite sides of the world, thousands of years apart, long before any of these cultures could have influenced each other. It's not a regional quirk. It's something close to universal in us. But here's what stopped me in my tracks: the Old Testament is full of this same practice. Over and over, God's people cast lots. They cast lots to divide the Promised Land in Joshua. They cast lots to choose Saul as the first king of Israel. The sailors on Jonah's boat cast lots to figure out who'd brought the storm down on them. Even the disciples cast lots to pick Judas's replacement in Acts. Same basic tool. Same basic action — throw something down, let it land, accept the outcome. But the reason was completely different. When we say "roll the dice" today, we mean something like: I don't know what's going to happen, so I'm going to trust luck and hope for the best. It's a statement about chaos. About chance being in charge. When Israel cast lots, they weren't trusting chance. They were trusting God. Proverbs puts it plainly: "We may throw the dice, but the LORD determines how they fall." (Proverbs 16:33, NLT) That's not a verse about luck. That's a verse about sovereignty. The ancient world used the exact same physical action we still use — an object tumbling, landing, deciding something — but they weren't handing the decision over to randomness. They were handing it over to Someone. So here's the bigger picture I keep landing on: we never actually stopped rolling the dice. We just stopped believing anyone was catching them. Every day is full of things we don't control. The traffic light. The diagnosis. Whether the email gets answered. Whether the storm hits your town or the next one over. We are, in a very real sense, always gambling — because we were never actually in the driver's seat to begin with. That was always an illusion, and it's one nearly every human culture, on every continent, has bumped into on its own. The difference isn't whether life is unpredictable. It always has been, for every person in every era, from Egypt to Wesson, Mississippi. The difference is who you believe is standing over the roll. If it's just chance, then uncertainty is something to white-knuckle through — control what you can, brace for the rest, and hope the dice fall your way. But if it's God — if He really is sovereign over the parts of your day you can't touch and the parts you can — then you get to do something the ancient world understood better than we do: let go. Not because you've stopped caring, but because you've remembered Who's actually holding the outcome. That's the whole shift, really. Not "nothing is in my control" as a scary thought — but "nothing is in my control, and that's exactly why I can breathe today." So next time you catch yourself saying, "guess I'll just roll the dice" — maybe let it remind you of something a lot older and a lot steadier than luck. The dice fall. God catches them. That's been true since Joshua, and it's still true this morning. Earth from space (Pale Blue Dot) — the bigger perspective